The Rise of Kate Beckett
by DetectiveKateBeckettCastle
Summary: SPOILERS FOR 4x01! Everyone was shocked: Kate Beckett had been shot at Montgomery's funeral. The hospital staff saves her life, but with one problem: She doesn't remember anything. Castle must compete with Josh to win Kate's love. Complete.


A/N: Hey, guys! I've been having a seriously evil case of writer's block & plus I've been crazy busy with school but anyway, this story was turned in as an assignment for my Journalism 1 class. He said we could write anything we wanted as long as it began with one of the three starter sentences he gave us & had a beginning, a middle & and an end. The sentence I chose was: "The stars were shining brightly." and I went on from there, so this is my take on what may happen in 4x01 "Rise" (Which, by the way is in three days! YES!) This is my first Castle fic, so please go easy on me. Hope you enjoy & PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, DO NOT HESITATE TO REVIEW! (And maybe even favorite. :D)

Disclaimer: Don't own Castle or its characters.

The Rise of Kate Beckett

By: S.K. Knight

The stars were shining brightly over New York City that night as ER staff franticly worked to save Detective Kate Beckett, who'd been shot earlier that day at the funeral of the captain of the 12th precinct, Roy Montgomery. Kate clung to life as people rushed around; doing everything they could to keep her heart beating. Each beep on the heart monitor pierced the air and then, suddenly, the beeping stopped.

"Code blue! Code blue! We need shocks for her, stat!" one of the nurses commanded. They shocked her over and over again, hoping they could jumpstart her heart, but the bright green line on the monitor stayed flat. After trying everything they could, one of the doctors went out to notify her friends and father. Richard Castle & Jim Beckett, Kate's father, were the first ones to stand. Lanie Parish, the 12th precinct medical examiner and Kate's good friend also stood. "I'm sorry…we did all we could." The doctor said, as Jim put his head in his hands and cried. Detective Javier Esposito comforted Lanie. Detective Kevin Ryan hugged his fiancée, Jenny.

Castle stayed standing. "She's not dead!" he suddenly shouted. "Kate Beckett is not dead!" he yelled again. At that moment, a nurse came out to inform the doctor of something.

"Well," said the doctor, "Katherine Beckett is very much alive." Lanie hugged Esposito & smiled big. Alexis Castle hugged her father & her grandmother, Martha Rodgers.

"It's a miracle!" Martha exclaimed. Suddenly, a man dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, leather jacket and boots walked in. "Where's Kate? Is she dead?" he demanded. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Josh?" Castle said aloud.

"She's alive, but she's in a coma and may not remember anything or very little when she wakes up." Lanie supplied.

"I'm her boyfriend; I see her first after Mr. Beckett, that is." Josh said.

"Who gave you the right to tell us what order we see her in?" Castle asked.

"Castle, don't start this. We all know you have feelings for her, it was your fault she was shot in the first place!" Josh yelled.

"What makes you think that she loves you, Josh? You're never there; you're always on some mission to save the world. Maybe, she's just in a loveless relationship because she can't face the fact that she's hiding her real feelings! I was ALWAYS there for her; I was ALWAYS her partner, her friend. And where were you? Oh, that's right; you were in a medical tent in Botswana for six months! That's some relationship you got there. You could never love her like I do." Castle ranted.

"You forget, Castle. You're just the writer, the sidekick. The one who stands on the sidelines and watches her love another man…it hurts, doesn't it?" Josh replied. That was the last straw for Castle.

"We'll let Kate decide, when she wakes up." Castle said.

"Ok then, but you and I both know who she'll choose. Here's a hint: It's not you." Josh said, smirking.

"Oh no," Lanie whispered, "some serious stuff is gonna go down up in here." Esposito looked at her and then at Josh and Castle.

"You got that right." Esposito replied.

Alexis pulled Castle to the side. "Dad, if you really love Kate, tell her, make her remember what you said when you were holding her in your arms after she was shot. Just please, help her remember. She WILL remember. I promise." His daughter assured him.

"I agree, Richard, just follow your heart. There's no one better with words than you are, darling." His mother told him.

A few hours later, they were permitted to see Kate. Jim Beckett went in first. He seated himself by her bed & took her hand. "Katie, fight this. Your mother would want you to fight. She wouldn't want this to get you. Fight it, honey, do it for the people who love you." he whispered.

After Jim, came Lanie, with her own prayer that Kate would wake. "Girl, you gotta be strong. Don't let this guy get away. Wake up, Kate. Please wake up." she said, crying a little.

After all of them had visited, they sat in the waiting room until morning, none of them daring to sleep until Kate woke. Castle & Josh glared daggers at each other. Finally, a nurse dressed in pink scrubs came out.

"Excuse me." She said timidly, and every head snapped up to look at her. "She's come out of her coma, but it's unlikely that she'll remember much of anything from the day she was shot, but she remembers her name and basic information but I can't promise she'll remember any of you, including her father." the nurse explained.

Castle's heart sank into his stomach. How could he win her heart if she couldn't remember him? Castle was slightly delighted to see Josh looked uneasy to. Castle and Josh argued some more when it came time to choose who would go in first.

"Oh my God, just shut up already! Castle, just go." Lanie told him, wanting to avoid another screaming match.

Castle entered the room to see the beautiful homicide detective lying in an eggshell white hospital bed, her arms hooked up to IVs and wires that were connected to machines.

"Hey, Kate, do you remember me? Richard Castle? The author? I followed you around while I was writing my book, remember?"

To his dismay, Kate shook her head. Castle took a seat next to her. "You don't remember the time I saved you when your apartment, the first time we met at my book party, or the time we were dying in that freezer? Nothing?" Castle tried.

"No, I'm sorry. I don't." Kate replied.

Castle began to tear up a little. He took her hand in his and sighed. "Please remember me, Kate, please." He pleaded. Castle tried everything but nothing worked. Even Lanie and the rest of her colleagues attempted to help but to no avail. Castle stayed with her until an idea struck him.

"Kate, I know how you'll remember me." He told her and leaned in, giving her a short kiss on her lips which Josh saw while watching and he marched in angrily.

"What is it you think you're doing, Castle? She's mine!" he yelled. Memories came flooding back to Kate in a matter of seconds: Castle holding her in his arms while she clung to life on the grass hearing professing his love and telling her to stay, hugging her boyfriend Josh late at night in the precinct, kissing Castle as a distraction to save Esposito and Ryan. The memories went on in her head as the two men began yelling and trading blows.

"Josh! Castle! Stop!" Kate said sternly, and they looked at her.

"You remember us?" Castle asked.

"Yes, and I also remember how Josh was always leaving. I can't do it anymore." Kate answered, and Josh glared at Castle.

"Kate…" Josh tried.

"No. You had your chance. You had too many chances. I'm done, we're done. Go." Kate told him. Josh left as Castle seated himself and took her hand. "So…you love me, huh, Castle?" she queried, smirking.

"Oh, uh, you remembered that too, huh?" Castle questioned nervously.

"You bet." Kate replied.

"I meant it, you know." Castle assured her.

"I know. I mean it too. I love you." Kate answered.

After Kate had been released from the hospital and was back at the precinct, Esposito and Ryan took to teasing her and Castle about their relationship.

"Hey, guys. Thought you might be interested to know about the couple name we came up with for you." Esposito said, smiling.

"Caskett, you know, like Castle and Beckett, with two Ts at the end? Cute, huh?" Ryan asked, smiling.

"Oh, that's fine, we came up with ones for you guys too, Lanie and Esposito are Esplanie and Kevin and Jenny are Jevin." Castle volunteered with a smirk, as Beckett smiled.

"Great, we are never gonna hear the end of this, are we?" Esposito asked.

"Not a chance." Beckett answered and they all laughed.


End file.
